‘House of Cards’ season four surprises with renewed greatness

Spoiler disclaimer: If you haven’t watched the fourth season of Netflix’s series “House of Cards” and are planning to, you probably shouldn’t read further. This review contains spoilers. This review comes from the perspective of two fans of the show who binge-watched all 13 episodes of the season in a row on the same day […]

Brandeis International Journal publishes student perspectives on the world

The Brandeis International Journal is an entirely undergraduate run, written and published International Affairs publication, according to the description on their website. Once per semester, the club releases an issue that contains thoroughly researched articles, written by students, regarding global affairs and a wide variety of dilemmas and perspectives. Zach Kasdin ’18, an International & […]

Purple Party attempts to unite younger voters

Who expects to run for president in the future? Deval Patrick? Elizabeth Warren? They’re mum on the subject; however Shaquan McDowell ’18 is forthright in stating that his hope is to run for president one day. McDowell is the co-founder and president of the Purple Party, which is an independent youth organization that promotes unity […]

Hunger and Homelessness fights poverty with service

The Waltham Group is an umbrella service organization under which 20 service clubs operate, doing good unto the local community through coordinated volunteer activities. These clubs work with blood drives, adults with developmental disabilities, Waltham students who need tutoring and on many more community issues. Lily Elderkin ’18 is a Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies […]

Univ. should reform system to help balancing act

“Success in this 4 credit hour course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class.” That phrase can be found in almost any course syllabus at Brandeis, and for good reason. Like other universities, Brandeis needs to be officially accredited, […]

Brandeis Students for Reproductive Justice enter their second semester

Lexi Ouellette is a sophomore from Granby, MA. Anne Kat Alexander is also a sophomore, hailing from Austin, TX. Ouellette is a Politics major with minors in Health: Science, Society and Policy, Legal Studies and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, while Alexander is an English and Classical Studies double major with minors in Women’s, Gender […]

Former executive senator steps into vice presidency

David Herbstritt ’17, a politics major, is the new vice president of the student body. Less than a week ago, however, he was still the executive senator to the Student Union. Herbstritt’s rise in the Union has been steady since he first won the seat of Castle quad senator in his sophomore year. Dennis Hermida-Gonzales […]

Univ. should reconsider winter recess

Winter intersession is often a welcome break for students, most of whom are glad for the relief from the non-stop flow of homework and exams. The recess that was from Dec. 18 through Jan. 12 this year, however, was almost a month in length—a lot of time. That leads one to ask the question: Is […]

Tympanium Euphorium makes its mark through musical theater

Every semester, a poster goes up advertising for a production by the theater group Tympanium Euphorium, commonly known as Tymp. Tympanium Euphorium means ‘happy ear,’ because the group specializes in musicals, which certainly make for happy listening. Officially recognized by the Student Union on Feb. 7, 2001, Tympanium is led by President Sarai Warsoff ’16. […]

Greek Awareness Council raises donations, visibility

Greek life at Brandeis is not the same as at other colleges and universities. Some might even go so far as to say that there is no official Greek life at Brandeis. This is, however, not the case. Greek life is present and buzzing with activity at our institution, and a more than fair number […]

Meet assistant dean Stephanie Grimes, a vital fixture in bettering student life

If there’s a face of an administrator that Brandeisians see around and recognize at student events, chances are good that it’s Stephanie Grimes. Grimes is the assistant dean of students and the director of Student Activities, so she finds herself involved in student life on a daily basis. In charge of overseeing the Department of […]

Both administration and students can improve on communication

Effective communication is vital to our campus community. When Lisa Lynch stepped up this year to fill in as the interim president of the university, her office made an announcement that they would be holding regular town hall discussions with students and administrators. Additionally, her office announced that they would be inviting a number of […]

John Unsworth balances library of the past, LTS future

Librarians have long been the stewards of human knowledge. Their trade dates all the way back to eighth-century Assyria. Throughout history, the roles and duties involved in keeping this knowledge have evolved. Librarians have acted as teachers, historians, researchers, archivists and living databases. More recently, they have acted as agents of the vast expanse of […]

Availability of student’s data cause for concern

In a recent interview for The Brandeis Hoot I had the pleasure of conducting with John Unsworth, the Chief Information Officer (among other positions) of the university, we touched upon the topics of fair use and protection of student data. With all of the data everyone leaves in their 21st-century wake, controversies regarding the use […]

The Harry Potter Alliance—social justice enabled through new culture

The Brandeis Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) is not a fan club. They are an activist organization devoted to making change in the world through pop culture-based campaigns, dealing primarily through the lens of movies and television shows. Describing themselves as “Dumbledore’s Army for the real world,” the organization is a national non-profit run largely by […]

Spotlight on V.P. for Campus Operations Jim Gray

Vice President for Campus Operations Jim Gray has a pretty broad job description. Falling under his purview is overseeing grounds, public safety and police, environmental health and safety, sustainability, university services, dining services, conferencing and events services and facilities services, including construction. When asked how he would describe what he does, Gray responded that it […]

Codestellation—the community hackathon—hopes to attract students of all majors

The word “hackathon” is generally used to describe an extended period, often 24 hours, during which individuals or members of a team focus on a project pertaining to hardware or software. “The way I talk about it when thinking about [the term] is some period of time when you’re marathon coding,” says Sofia Semenova ’17. […]

BUGS offers undergraduates valuable academic resource

Brandeis Undergraduate Group Study, abbreviated BUGS, is a study program maintained by the Office of Academic Services for the use of students seeking help, guidance or review for a large number of classes. Each BUGS session is led by students who have taken the courses for which they tutor. Conner Wahrman ’17, a politics major […]